(02-28-2024 11:05 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 10:57 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 10:51 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 10:49 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(10-01-2023 08:55 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

apparently it was brain cancer....only 57 years old. R.I.P.

Oh my, this is tragic...Widow of Tim Wakefield dies less than 5 months after former pitcher's passing; Stacy Wakefield dies of pancreatic cancer (Tim died of brain cancer) Stacy and Tim were married from 2002 until his passing. They had two children together.

Very Sad Indeed! Prayers for the children!

that is truly tragic ... both on and off the field, Wake was one of my all-time faves...

if you haven't watched Knuckleball, you're missing out....

I had 2 second cousins who were knuckleball pitchers. One was my father's age and played what we called semi-pro ball, and he always asked me to catch for him while he practiced. I literally had to put a dishrag in the mitt to protect my palm. He never knew for sure where it was going, and I didn't either. But he had a 90 plus fastball and I knew pretty much where it was going, and it stung. His kid brother got signed by the Braves and called up to Atlanta in the early 70's. He did fine and they offered him a contract, but he literally missed the farm and went home. He had 3 pitch repertoires because he and 6 o'clock curve along with a 90 plus fastball. The Niekro brothers, Hoyt Wilhelm, and then a tad later Wakefield were all a wonderful change of pace in MLB. I loved to watch any of them and Gaylord Perry, a spitballer, pitch.

The cousin that was my Dad's age grew up poor like my father. The two of the bought parts to Studebakers and assembled their first car and took turns using it on weekends for dates. He wound up being an inventor and held patents. My dad would get pulled aside in high school by an old eccentric pilot who had a Curtiss Jenny who taught Dad to fly in that old biplane. Dad and his first cousin were closer than most brothers. The stayed tight until the cousin died from a coronary.

When I was about 14, we had a neighbor who had a few cups of coffee in MLB as a pitcher. He was a knuckleball specialist. We were talking to him one day and I had my glove and ball. Told him to throw me a few knuckleballs. The first one was moving around so much, it hit me squarely in the forehead. I decided I had had enough after that but we were all on the ground rolling with laughter.